Tony Pulis injury woes and Crystal Palace match preview

Boxing Day never tends to serve up Aston Villa much fortune, but a win on the 2013 version of it would be huge and vital to break a losing streak of three. Worse still, Villa need to sort out having the worst home record in the league asap. If they hold that record come the end of the year, they’ll more than likely be playing in a different league next season. Come on you Villa boys! UTV

Pulis on Crystal Palace woes

“We have a problem at the club in that we have quite a few injuries and obviously Chamakh is suspended on Boxing Day – so that’s 10 players injured and Chamakh out.

“It’s near on 11 players that we can’t call. It’s a big miss for us but saying that, the players that have performed and played in the games have done exceptionally well.

We’ll go there and make sure that we prepare properly and hopefully get a result.”

Lambert on Crystal Palace

“You have to try and put a stop to it as quick as you can.

“You look at that mid-table, there is absolutely nothing in it. One win catapults.

“Palace’s form has improved but that’s what happens sometimes when a new manager comes in, you get that initial lift and then things like that can happen. Tony knows that, he has made Stoke City the club it is today.

“We have to win – it will be a cracking crowd there, Boxing Day and we have to go and win.”

Form is Temporary

Memory match:

24th February 2010 Aston Villa 3 – 1 Crystal Palace

The last time we played Crystal Palace in the Premier League was in 2005, but this memorable FA Cup replay saw a goal from Agbonlahor and two penalties from Carew to help us progress to the next round.

Aston Villa: Last five matches at home: W 1 D 1 L 3

Crystal Palace: Last five matches away: W 1 L 4

One to Watch

Cameron Jerome – despite his differences with Pulis at former club Stoke in the past, the ex-Birmingham City striker seems to have picked up a bit of form and will be looking to impress as Chamakh misses the game.

Facts to Sweep Under the Carpet

This season has been strange so far. Last season, despite the relegation battle, we managed to score quite a lot of goals with our attacking style of football. This time around, they’re less common. In fact, we’ve failed to score in four of our last five home games. It hasn’t been the fortress fans hoped for, and we have the worst home record in the league. In a season in which we’ve lacked a bit of luck at times, it’s worrying to hear that we’ve only won one of our last twelve Boxing Day matches. Surely Bannan isn’t going to score against Villa, is he? Please tell me, he’s suspended or injured…

What We Pray the Football Gods Will Provide

With the horrors of Villa’s last Christmas period still in recent memory, a more attractive style of football and a good result would set us up nicely for our congested run of games. One of the few positives this season is that we aren’t reliant on one striker to score goals, even if they aren’t exactly plentiful, and while the midfielders have contributed goals it would be great to see Weimann and Agbonlahor back on the score-sheet.

Why Villa have got this game in the bag

The stats above don’t fill us with confidence, but there is one consolation – Palace’s are even worse. They have the worst possession rate in the league and while they enjoyed a honeymoon period after the arrival of Pulis, they suffered a slightly surprising 3-0 home loss to Newcastle in their last game. Our home form is disappointing but it is better than Palace’s away form, and that should count for something. It’s a must-win game, and even with injuries and suspensions, hopefully we can keep Bannan and his team-mates quiet. UTV.

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My Old Man Said (MOMS) is an award-winning football blog & podcast. MOMS is also on the National Council of the Football Supporters Federation (FSF) and has been to Parliament, the Premier League offices and beyond in addressing supporter issues. UTV

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